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The West Indies have three matches to at least put a littlesilver lining on what has been an especially dark tour ofSri Lanka, collectively and for captain Carl Hooperspecifically.They must beat both Sri Lanka tomorrow and Zimbabwe onSunday in Kandy in their remaining qualifying round matchesof the LG Abans triangular One-Day series and Sri Lankaagain in the final in a day-night match at the PremadasaStadium here on Wednesday to carry back anything but painfulmemories from another overseas campaign.Contrary to earlier reports, victory in both weekend matchesis mandatory to go through. Under the playing conditions,teams tied on points at the end are separated first by theresults of their qualifying round matches against each otherand then net run-rate.In other words, even if the West Indies repeat their earliertriumph over Sri Lanka but lose again to Zimbabwe, it wouldbe Zimbabwe for the final.Sri Lanka are already through on the strength of the twobonus points earned from their convincing results againstZimbabwe.The effect of such an outcome on Hooper personally is nothard to imagine. As he has repeatedly observed, he regardedthe series of three Tests as the gauge that would measurewhere the team stood following the encouraging tour ofZimbabwe and Kenya four months earlier.He has been at pains to condition the successes in Africa byreferring always with respect to the quality of theopposition. Sri Lanka, stronger, more experienced and withhome advantage, obviously offered a more realisticassessment.What followed was another overseas disaster, the latestclean sweep by the opposition to follow those by Pakistan,South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in the last fouryears.The submission to a Zimbabwe side without several of itsmajor players in the first match of the triangular serieswas a further setback.Tuesday night’s hard-fought upset over Sri Lanka was atimely comeback that kept alive hopes of belatedconsolation.It is an opportunity for Hooper to contribute moresubstantially than he has so far done as a player.Only Wasim Akram and Steve Waugh of contemporary playershave been in international cricket longer than his 14 yearshe made his Test debut against in Bombay on this very day in1987 and few are blessed with his natural ability.Yet his true potential has never been realised. Hints,against South Africa and Zimbabwe, that it finally wouldwith the responsibility of captaincy on return from hisself-imposed exile have proved an illusion here.His Test series average of 27.83 and the mode of hisdismissals in key innings were unsettling reminders of theunderachievement of such a obviously talented cricketer.The end of his innings against Sri Lanka on Tuesday typifiedthe flawed judgement that has been his undoing so often overthe years.He was well set with 29 in the 41st over and was battingwith Ramnaresh Sarwan who was also going comfortably in astand of 58.The total was 209 and Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka’s keybowler, had just come back for his last three overs. Onething was clear: given the West Indies’ lengthy tail, thecaptain’s presence was crucial to ensure the total of around270 that beckoned.Instead, Hooper stepped forward to Muralitharan’s third balland chipped it high to long-off, as if he was giving prematch catching practice. The stroke was as improper as theexample it set.Within a couple of overs, Sarwan and Marlon Samuels followedsuit and suddenly West Indies were battling to bat out theirallocation as they eked out 41 from the last ten overs.If the charge of a lack of commitment could once be madeagainst Hooper, not any more. His comportment since hisreturn has shown an appreciation of what the captaincy meansbut there hasn’t been a corresponding responsibility in hisperformance.For someone with his experience, he must know he has threematches left here to put things right.

Fifties from Colin Ingram and Yaseen Vallie, and three wickets from JJ Smuts gave Warriors their second win in a row when they beat Dolphins by 42 runs (D/L method) in Port Elizabeth. After Warriors scored 276 for 7 in their 50 overs, the target for Dolphins was revised to 273 from 48 overs after rain interrupted play in the 14th over of the chase.Opting to bat, Warriors lost Smuts for a duck in the fourth over before Gihahn Cloete (49) and Ingram put on 89 for the second wicket. However, both batsmen fell within seven overs and Warriors were then led by Vallie, who combined with the other middle-order batsmen to take them past 250. Vallie scored 96 off 78 balls, that featured 11 fours and a six, and was dismissed in the last over by Ryan McLaren. Craig Alexander and McLaren picked up two wickets each.Dolphins also lost an opener – Morne van Wyk – for a duck early on in the innings when he was bowled in the first over. The other four of the top five batsmen got starts but could not convert them into big scores – Cameron Delport (34) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld (28) put on 49 for the second wicket before Jaarsveld was run-out and Dolphins could not get a big partnership going after that. Cody Chetty scored 21 and Tshepang Dithole top-scored with 35 but left-arm spinner Smuts had Chetty caught behind and picked up two more quick wickets to end with 3 for 47. Dolphins were 147 for 8 before Robbie Frylinck (56) and Keshav Maharaj put on 61 for the ninth wicket but were eventually bowled out for 230 in the 41st over.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

There was no brave rearguard partnership, no stubborn resistance which delayed the inevitable on the third day in Wellington as New Zealand crushed Bangladesh by an innings and 137 runs in less than seven sessions to seal the 2-0 clean sweep of the series. New Zealand took four out of the required five wickets in 25 overs this morning, and with Tamim Iqbal nursing a broken thumb in the dressing room, the Bangladesh innings ended on 113 for 9.Bangladesh had saved their most feeble batting performance for their final innings of the tour. In Dunedin they had batted 46.1 and 83.1 overs in the first and second innings respectively. They were abject in the first innings at the Basin Reserve, surviving only 45.3 overs and it did not get much better in the second, in which they collapsed in 47 overs. The overcast, windy conditions and a pitch that offered plenty of bounce and lateral movement, which New Zealand’s seam attack exploited, simply proved to be beyond the Bangladesh batsmen’s abilities. Only Shakib Al Hasan, who had replaced Enamul Haque Jnr to strengthen the batting, resisted, remaining unbeaten on 41 but he too offered two chances to slip.The capitulation began in the first over of the day. Chris Martin got one to nip back into Habibul Bashar, who played outside of the line of the ball without moving his feet, and the leg before decision was easy for Peter Parker to make. New Zealand’s bowlers endured a barren patch of 13 overs before their next wicket and it was during this period that Shakib was dropped twice, on 19 and 29, off Iain O’Brien. He received his first let off when Matthew Bell dropped a sharp chance at second slip and it was Bell, again, who made no attempt to catch one that flew between him and first slip.Shahadat Hossain stuck around for 37 balls before fending away from his body and edging O’Brien to McCullum and an awful mix-up immediately after the drinks break left Sajidul Islam stranded half-way down the pitch to give New Zealand the eighth wicket.Mashrafe Mortaza, who was demoted to No. 11 yet again, and Shakib added 30 runs for the final wicket before Mortaza was splendidly caught by Mills, diving to his right at point, to end the game ten minutes before lunch. The last wicket had produced Bangladesh’s highest partnership, an indictment of how poor the batting performance had been.

Chennai and Bangalore will host the second edition of the Afro-Asia Cup in the second week of June, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced. The tournament is part of a gruelling schedule that awaits the Indians with non-stop action till the summer of 2008.With the World Cup ending towards the close of April, India head to Bangladesh for a short tour of two Tests and three one-dayers, followed by a full-length tour of England between July 7 and September 8. The tour includes three Tests, seven ODIs and a one-off ODI against Scotland. The Afro-Asia Cup will be held between the two tours.There will be the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa and home Tests will finally return after a gap of nearly 17 months when India host Pakistan for a series of three Tests and five one-dayers. There won’t still be any respite as India head to Australia in November, followed by another home series.”We will go to Australia for a four-Test series and take part in a one-day tri-series with Sri Lanka as the third team,” said Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary. “We will return on March 7. “Then we are hosting a three-Test series against South Africa,” Shah said. Later, the team departs for Pakistan for the Asia Cup.

It never rains but it pours. South Africa’s injury crisis has worsened with the news that Charl Langeveldt will miss their opening VB Series match, against Australia at Brisbane, with a groin strain. He has been hampered by the injury since the end of the Test series but, it had been hoped he would have been able to shake it off ahead of the one-day matches.Langeveldt’s unavailability means South Africa’s pace bowling resources are being stretched to breaking point. Andre Nel has been ruled out of the tournament with a stress fracture of his foot, while Makhaya Ntini is currently back in South Africa receiving treatment for a knee injury. There has been talk of Ntini rejoining the tour however, the selectors are loathed to risk one of their premier strike bowlers with the return Test series against Australia starting in March.This spate of injuries leaves the attack in the hands of Shaun Pollock, with back up from the inexperienced duo of Monde Zondeki and Garnett Kruger, plus Andrew Hall’s brisk medium pace. One boost for South Africa is that Justin Kemp is expected to be able to play, but only as a batsman – putting further pressure on the remaining bowlers.Meanwhile, the Australians are weighing up their options following the 116-run thrashing of Sri Lanka in the opening match in Melbourne. Brett Dorey has a chance of making his international debut, on the ground where he claimed a career-best 7 for 87, for Western Australia against Queensland, in the Pura Cup. However, following the near faultless performance at the Telstra Dome he may find it difficult to force his way in.Australia (probable) Adam Gilchrist (wk), Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, James Hopes, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Glenn McGrath. Supersub Brett DoreySouth Africa (probable) Graeme Smith (capt), Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Mark Boucher (wk), Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Garnett Kruger, Monde Zondeki. Supersub Johan Botha

Australia’s cricketers will ask for plastic bottles of beer to be banned at New Zealand grounds after some players were hit while fielding during Saturday’s one-day win over New Zealand.On what was a poor day for New Zealand cricket in general, Matthew Hayden was also spat at and hit by cardboard boxes during Australia’s 10-run win the opening one-dayer.Glenn McGrath also got into an argument with a security guard on the boundary, leading to Ricky Ponting insisting that the official be removed. “I actually saw Glenn chasing the security guard,” Ponting told reporters. “He told me a few overs before that he was having some problems with that guard. I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t going to happen again and at least get that guard away."For his part, McGrath admitted that he was not blameless. “I had … an altercation might be the right word … with a security guard on the fence,” he explained. “But I was a bit fired up at the time, so I probably should accept 50 % of what happened there myself.”But Ponting was clearly far from happy with off-pitch behaviour which twice caused play to be stopped. "Someone’s going to get hurt," he argued. "If a full plastic bottle hits someone in the eye or the back of the head, then we don’t want that. Get the police involved or whatever."And Adam Gilchrist was in no mood to disagree. “As far as bad-mouthing and personal abuse goes, the crowds here are on a par with anything we have come across, even in South Africa."Officials will meet the company responsible for security at the venues on Monday to discuss arrangements for the next game in Christchurch.

In the light of the recent bomb blasts in Mumbai, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has verified that it has adequate security arrangements in place for New Zealand’s forthcoming tour of India.New Zealand, while they have not yet asked for any reassurance, will have reason to feel queasy – they returned midway from their tour of Pakistan last year because of a bomb blast outside their hotel, and almost did the same in Sri Lanka in 1992 after bombs went off outside their hotel. They have since been apprehensive about terrorist threats, and withdrew from their match in Kenya in this year’s World Cup for just that reason.SK Nair, the BCCI’s secretary, said: "We have issued directions to all the staging associations to ensure trouble-free conduct of matches during the two series and have asked all the associations to adhere to the ICC guidelines on security. We will not adopt a soft approach at all. We will be very strict because even one incident can tarnish the country’s image."Nair emphasized that the BCCI was taking the matter seriously. "Although New Zealand Cricket has not approached us so far expressing their concern over security measures," he said, "we are prepared for the worst."Meanwhile Martin Snedden, NZC’s chief executive, has said that NZC were waiting to hear from India, and that there would be no knee-jerk reaction at their end.

The touring English team will take on an Indian Board President’s XI, ina three-day match at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad,starting on Thursday.Most of the top English batsmen have run into some good form in theirlast game, played in Mumbai. Two batsmen who didn’t have a good gameagainst Mumbai Cricket Association Board President’s XI are Mark Butcherand Michael Vaughan and they would be hoping to use this match to regaintheir touch.The English squad had a net session in the morning. They have though notgiven any clue about the composition of their final eleven. The latestaddition to the squad, Andrew Flintoff, has not arrived in Hyderabad andlooks set to play only in the match against India ‘A’ at Jaipur. Englandwill possibly play wicketkeeper Warren Hegg ahead of James Foster.The pitch at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium looks to be a sleepingbeauty. The young fast bowler from Kerala, Tinu Yohannan lamented,”There is not even a blade of grass on this track.” Meanwhile, theweather here is crisp and slightly warm, nothing like the sultryconditions one encounters in the coastal cities like Mumbai and Chennai.Madan Lal, the Manager of the Board President’s XI, who incidentally isalso a national selector, was at the nets with his boys in theafternoon. He had a close look at Rohan Gavaskar and Murali Kartik amongothers. Speaking to , Madan Lal said that the finaleleven had been more or less decided, and Rakesh Patel, Irfan Pathanand RV Dhruv will miss out. The team is still awaiting the arrival ofoff-spinner Sarandeep Singh and the medium-pacer from Jammu and Kashmir,Surendra Singh.Tinu Yohannan was working up impressive pace in the nets; the tall andlean fast bowler has caught the attention of Madan Lal, a former Indiafast bowler himself. Madan Lal, as a matter of fact , shared ten secondinnings wickets with Kapil Dev against Keith Fletcher’s England in theMumbai Test and took India to a Test Victory, some 19 years ago.Madan Lal was of the opinion that none of the players are on trial inHyderabad, “Sarandeep Singh has been amongst wickets this season and hisform has been phenomenal, there is a good chance that he will be thethird spinner in the Indian Test team against England.”The former India coach was of the opinion that Rohan Gavaskar is a verygood batsman and it is a matter of time before he starts scoring heavilyand is in contention for a place in the national squad. Sridharan Sriramwho had a wonderful time with the bat against a visiting Sri Lankan XIin the MJ Gopalan Trophy will also try to press hard for the opener’sslot in the national side. Madan Lal says, “The opening position and anextra spin bowler’s slot has been vacant in the national side for quitea while now, it is for the players to grab the opportunity.”Pankaj Dharmani and Murali Kartik will have to prove their mettleagainst the visitors to be in national reckoning, given the competitionfor positions in the national squad.The controversy surrounding the disciplinary action taken against sixIndian players in South Africa has evoked strong emotions in this sportloving city too.Incidentally, Mike Denness the ICC match referee who is caught in theeye of the storm in South Africa, played in a three-day match againstIndian Board Pesident’s XI in 1972 (Dec 2-4) at Lal Bahadur ShastriStadium in Hyderabad. In those days, the top players in the countryrepresented the Board President’s XI and a 22-year-old Sunil ManoharGavaskar scored 86 to take Board President’s XI to 317/5 decl. In reply,the England XI made 321/7 declared, Denness making a sparkling 95 and DLAmiss making 81 against a bowling attack that comprised of Abid Ali(2/74) and EAS Prasanna (3/109).England (from): Nasser Hussain (capt), Usman Afzaal, Martyn Ball, MarkButcher, Marcus Trescothick, Graham Thorpe, Michael Vaughan, MarkRamprakash, Richard Dawson, James Foster, Ashley Giles, Warren Hegg,Richard Johnson, Matthew Hoggard, James Ormond, Craig White.Board President’s XI (from): Jacob Martin (capt), Irfan Pathan, RakeshPatel, Wasim Jaffer, Sridharan Sriram, Dinesh Mongia, Pankaj Dharmani,Sanjay Bangar, Murali Kartik, Rohan Gavaskar, Tinu Yohannan, SharandeepSingh, Surender Singh.

ScorecardRod Bransgrove with Hampshire director of cricket Giles White (file photo)•Getty Images

Sports administrators arriving on the field to exhort their teams to do better will always be treading a fine line – think Delia Smith’s much-mocked “Let’s be ‘aving you” at half-time during a Norwich City football match – but there can be no denying that the appearance of Rod Bransgrove on the outfield of the Ageas Bowl on Tuesday coincided with one of Hampshire’s most complete displays of the season.With the bat, they shifted through the gears from safety-first accumulation to all out dashing, as a burst of 77 runs in 6.4 overs carried them to maximum batting points for the first time this season – a feat all the more impressive considering they were 181 for 4 from 69.1 overs at one stage on the first day. They then added a bowling bonus point to their haul by reducing the freshly re-crowned champions, perhaps already mentally on holiday, to 82 for 4 before bad light prevented any further harrying by Hampshire’s pace attack.A forecast for rain notwithstanding, Hampshire are in complete control in this match. Coming as Bransgrove declared his ambition for the team to compete with the likes of Yorkshire for the Championship, this was a serendipitous performance and, given how tight things could become in the shake-up for Division One relegation, one that could have significant bearing on their chances of survival.At lunch, Hampshire announced that the Ageas Bowl pavilion has been named after Bransgrove, the club chairman and former chief executive who has invested much of his own money into developing the ground over the last 15 years. Bransgrove had hinted last year, after Hampshire failed to win a 2019 Ashes Test in the ECB’s most recent major match allocation, that he could reduce his involvement but, while admitting he was “easing back”, he declared there were still goals to pursue.One of those, unsurprisingly, is realising the dream of hosting a Test against Australia, a topic Bransgrove has long been bullish about. The tender process has begun for the 2020-2023 allocations and Bransgrove was positive about Hampshire’s chances; the Ageas Bowl remains the only Test ground in England not to have been awarded an Ashes Test. The other aim, more pertinent to the state of this match, was for Hampshire to challenge for what would be only a third Championship title.”I’m hoping, and quite confident, that in the year 2023, we will stage our first Ashes Test match,” Bransgrove said at the unveiling. “The other ambition I’d like to focus on now for a few years is to have a pop at the County Championship. We’ve been close once or twice, it’s one competition that’s eluded us but I think we’re going to give it a real crack over the next five years.”The completion of the hotel at the ground earlier this year capped a multimillion-pound redevelopment and Bransgrove suggested that a greater focus on results was now in order. Hampshire have been one of the strongest limited-overs sides in the country but their second-place finish in 2005 is the closest they have come to a Championship challenge under Bransgrove.”I do feel as though we’ve got to an end with this journey but it’s the sort of beginning of another one really, because now we’re up there amongst the big clubs in terms of resource, so we’ve got to make sure we compete with the big clubs on the field as well and demonstrate that Hampshire is up there with the Yorkshires, Warwickshires, Notts and others.”The only way they can do that, at least in the short term, is by avoiding relegation back to Division Two after a single season. Should they achieve that, at the expense of either Sussex or Somerset, it would see eight of the nine counties with Test grounds (Glamorgan being the exception) concentrated in the top tier, a situation that would doubtless increase fears about the sustainability of the Championship ecosystem.While financial heft has allowed Hampshire to bring in internationals such as Fidel Edwards – who completed a miserable day for Yorkshire opener Adam Lyth, dropped from England’s UAE squad, by having him caught at slip second ball – Ryan McLaren and Jackson Bird to bolster their Division One campaign, it was a homegrown player who shone on another murky, truncated day on the south coast. Liam Dawson’s seventh first-class hundred was his first in almost two years and it provided the gangplank for Hampshire to storm to 400 and stir hopes of a remarkable victory.Since retaining their title on the first day of their match at Lord’s last week, Yorkshire supporters have had plenty to mither about. Defeated by Middlesex despite taking a 193-run first-innings lead, they have had their noses tweaked again here. Jason Gillespie made his disapproval clear in the changing rooms afterward.A fifth batting point for Hampshire looked about as likely as a calm day’s yachting on the Solent when they resumed on 219 for 4, the start of play having been delayed by almost two hours by further rain. Dawson was the driving force as Hampshire added 73 without loss during the first session; he finished it by taking 11 off an over of spin from Lyth to reach his hundred, having passed 50 with his first scoring shot of the morning.Dawson had not previously made a Championship half-century for Hampshire this season – though he managed 99 when loaned out to Essex to rediscover some red-ball form – but he led the charge after the lunch, too. Soft when playing late enough to make sure edges went to ground (and often to third man), strong when driving down the ground, Dawson’s knock was also long enough to satisfy the Andrex puppy. When he fell for 140, skying a leg-side hoick at James Middlebrook, Hampshire were still 26 shy of their target with 17 balls in which to get there; Gareth Berg biffed four consecutive fours off Middlebrook to ensure they made it with room to spare.Whether Bransgrove’s clarion call had an effect will be something for local scholars to reflect on. The chairman turns 65 on Sunday but Hampshire’s players have so far done their utmost to provide an early birthday present.

Stuart MacGill will have surgery on his right hand on Thursday and is likely to miss at least the first two Tests of the series against India. He had originally been tipped to have an operation – on his problem right knee – but after two weeks of heavy scrutiny after his poor bowling in the Hobart Test a decision on his treatment has been made.”MacGill will undergo surgery in Sydney on Thursday for carpal tunnel syndrome in the right hand, a common problem that causes hand numbness,” Trefor James, the team doctor who examined MacGill in Melbourne, said. “The surgery is expected to keep Stuart out for four to six weeks.”Australia’s series with India begins on Boxing Day and the selectors will now have to decide between the spin of Brad Hogg or using four fast men on the drop-in pitch. “My gut feeling is that we have to pick our four best bowlers,” the Australia coach Tim Nielsen said in the Herald Sun. “It doesn’t matter if they are spinners or quicks.”MacGill’s problems severely affect the national team as he was meant to operate as the link man between the Shane Warne era and the next generation of spinners. MacGill is 36 and he faces a huge battle to prove himself after admitting he was unfit leading into the Sri Lanka series. He could be ready to return late in the four-Test contest with India, but there is also the option of waiting for the tour of Pakistan in March.”Although Stuart has had mild symptoms for several months, it only began to affect his bowling during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Hobart last month,” James said. “The problem has been the subject of a thorough investigation and assessment since the Test.”MacGill has also been hampered by a serious knee condition but James ruled out any further surgery. He struggled in the series against Sri Lanka, managing to pick up five wickets at an average of 65.